


Ice Cream Fixes Everything

by alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice



Series: Tumblr requests and self-indulgent fluff pieces [3]
Category: The Orville (TV)
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Ed being a dork, F/M, Ice Cream, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26448046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice/pseuds/alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice
Summary: Ed and Unnamed Narrator both have a bad day and comfort each other with ice cream and old movies.
Relationships: Ed Mercer (The Orville)/Reader
Series: Tumblr requests and self-indulgent fluff pieces [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920859
Kudos: 7





	Ice Cream Fixes Everything

**Author's Note:**

> Another request from Tumblr. I had fun trying to capture Ed's mannerisms/speech habits which I prefer to sum up as "massive dork."

I’ve been working on the USS Orville for six months now as a science officer. I’ve been dating Captain Ed Mercer for about two. Well… I guess you could call it dating. We’ve gotten closer ever since we met in the mess hall a while ago, but our relationship doesn’t really have a label.

Today was my day off, but I didn’t mention it to Ed. I didn’t really mention it to anyone besides those that needed to know. I miss home. I worked on Earth for years… this is my first time being off planet, and I dived right in, going six months on this ship. I’m homesick for a whole planet. I’m Earth-sick.

I spent a little time in the simulator, with a program that mimicked a place on Earth I loved to visit. I don’t know if I was just masochistic or if I decided I deserved a little taste of home. Now I’m in my quarters, a tub of ice cream from the replicator in my hands, and a comfort film on the screen, the kind I’ve seen a couple dozen times already and could watch a couple dozen more. The movie is about five minutes in when I hear the “beep boop” of the door. I wonder if there’s a way to set the tone on the door to an old-fashioned doorbell, more “ding dong” instead of “beep boop.”

The Captain is standing on the other side of the door… and I’m in pajamas.

He smirks. “You um… you have chocolate on your face.”

My face gets hot and I hastily rub at my face. “Um… what brings you here, Captain?”

“Ed, please, this is a social call.”

“Okay, what brings you here, Ed?”

I invite him in, and he does that little awkward shifting on his feet I’ve noticed is a habit of his. “I uh… I stopped by your station, and you weren’t there, and then I was worried you might be sick or injured and I asked Claire and she gave me a lengthy lecture on patient confidentiality. I probably should have come straight here but… I guess I was worried, and you can take that how you like.”

“I’d like to think it means you care about me,” I admit.

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I meant.” He gestures to my ensemble, and the ice cream tub I set by the door. “Big night?”

I laugh a little. “Today is my day off, and I made it a self-care day, but don’t think you’re getting away with avoiding my question. What brings you here? Are you okay?”

He chuckles a little nervously. “I’ve, uh… I’ve had a day, and I kind of wanted someone to lean on, and I guess I want that person to be you, if you, uh, if you’re okay with it.”

“I’ve got my comfort movie on, and I can replicate you another tub of ice cream.”

Ed seems baffled, looking back and forth between me and the solid quart of ice cream sitting on the table. “What, you don’t plan on sharing?”

I scoff, “Hell no. Oh, you still have a lot to learn about me. I don’t share my ice cream.”

Ed shrugs. “Fair enough, how far into the movie are you?”

“Only five minutes, I can start over.”

We curl up on the couch together, leaning into each other. Ed enjoys the movie, which is good because I might have to break up with him otherwise. Towards the end of the movie, Ed turns to me, glancing down at my lips. “Could I kiss you?”

I nod, and we share a sweet kiss. When we part, he asks. “And, could I call myself your boyfriend? Gosh, that sounds really immature, like we’re teenagers or something.”

“Partners, then?”

He nods, considering it. “Yeah, I like that.” He leans his head on my shoulder. “I don’t know how you managed it, but you made me feel a lot better.”

“Misery loves company, huh?”

“Yeah, you were homesick today, weren’t you?”

I don’t recall saying anything about that. “How did you know?”

He shrugs, “just had a feeling. You had the same look about you when you first came on board. Like you were beyond excited, but a little melancholy too. And I know this is your first time off world. It’s got to be a weird adjustment, six months away from Earth right off the bat.”

I peck his forehead. “You get me.”

“And you get me. What a pair of partners we make, huh? Just wallowing with ice cream together.”

Partners, I’m really liking the sound of that. “I’ll always be here when you need a break from being Captain and just want to be Ed.”

Ed picks out the next movie, a musical over a century old. Gosh, he’s such a dork. I wish I could stay awake for this movie, but I find myself drifting off. When the movie ends, Ed leaves, but not before tucking me into bed, (I repeat, such a dork, but clearly the good kind) to which I respond with a mumble-y “thank you.”

“Thank _you,_ ” he says, then in an exaggerated country twang, “partner.”

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory link to my tumblr: https://alls-fair-in-pride-and-prejudice.tumblr.com


End file.
